Her Two Year Regret
by Sketcher1994
Summary: It's been two years since the night that he told her that he loved her and now he's back. Robin now wishes she'd handled things differently as she watches him trying to live his own life with his other half. Even though she finds it difficult just seeing him, she can't stay away once she sees what she did to him. Will she try to win him back or let him go through with moving away?
1. Chapter 1 - Just a Boy

**AN: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda!**

 **Hey! So, many of you requested a sequel to 'His Sixth Year Crush'. Well, this is it! After months at the writing board (I do actually have a drawing board, but I keep that for sketches ;P I'll shut up with the bad jokes now), I couldn't seem to come up with a non-overly-angsty story. Then along came _megaME_ with a lovely list of requests. One of these requests was for a sequel to 'His Sixth Year Crush' and she very kindly gave me a good hard nudge! She gave me a couple of points to put into it and this story is the outcome!**

 **( _megaME_ seriously needs to come give us a bow at some point! Also, anyone else who wants to throw requests at me, please do! XD _crushvox_ , I hope you enjoy the embarrassment you're causing me! XD )**

 **This time we're getting our story from Robin's point of view.**

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 **Chapter One – Just a Boy**

Robin sat up slowly from her bed, stretching, as she heard a car pull up across the street. She hadn't heard a car park there for a couple of months now; at least, not since she'd gotten back. She'd requested a temporary transfer and, unfortunately, it had finally ended after just over nine months. She'd just gone through two of the most difficult years of her life, torn between what she was sure she deserved and what she wanted. She deserved the man that she had agreed to marry, but why would anyone want to choose someone who constantly cheated?

She did choose him though. She'd already chosen to turn down what she wanted. She'd done that over two years ago. She still couldn't decide if she'd really done the right thing by turning Zoro away. She had known one thing though; she'd known it before she had accepted that bastard's offer. The Groom that had stood opposite her at the altar, over a year ago, was not the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

She just wasn't sure who that person was yet.

She pushed back her covers and slowly got up from her bed. Robin pulled back her dark, violet curtains to look out of the window for signs of a visitor across the road. She flinched as she recognised the slightly rusted dark green Peugeot 405 sitting outside of Koshiro's house. The car hadn't been there over the summer months that she had been back in her house, but there it was now.

She already wanted it gone. How could she face Zoro after what she had done? He had begged her to leave her fiancé for him two years ago and she had turned him away. She'd led him on and thrown him away the second that he had tried to truly give himself to her. She had no right to speak to him. She didn't even have the right to look at him, no matter how much she longed to. How could he ever forgive her for doing such a thing to him?

She pulled back slightly so that she had to look through the new white, floral net curtain at an angle, ensuring she would not be seen. She watched the movement inside the car. What was he doing? She frowned as she watched him lean closer to the passenger seat. Was there someone else in the car? Had he brought one of his friends back with him? He'd moved out of Koshiro's during the summer two years ago and he'd rarely come back to the house to see Koshiro after that. Was he still working for Koshiro at the dojo?

Robin stepped back behind the wall as Zoro's car door opened, revealing an unbelievably muscular Zoro. She'd thought he looked bigger through his car window, but the glance that she'd just gotten of him suggested he was at least twice the size he had been when she'd known him. She smiled softly to herself as she remembered his little strip tease he'd done for her. She'd been curious about what he would do if she did one for him, but she would never have come to the conclusion of him giving her one.

She heard voices as Zoro stepped out of his car, apparently still talking to whoever was still inside. Why was she even hiding? He wouldn't look up at her window, so it wasn't as if he'd know that she'd been watching. She doubted that he even knew that she was back. In fact, she doubted if he'd even care at all. It _had_ been two years and she _had_ rejected him. Surely he'd have moved on, just as she'd predicted he would. He'd just been a boy that night. Boy's have crushes and then move on. That's what they do. He wasn't a man when he'd told her all of those things, so he would have gotten bored of her and moved on.

But men got bored too.

Her ex-fiancé had been proud of his 'adventures' while he'd been her 'boyfriend'. She had been more than a little shocked when he'd proposed, but he was what she deserved. So why had she left him at the altar? She sighed and walked over to her wardrobe. The least she could do was get dressed; then if he heard that she was back and came to see her, she'd be wearing clothes. He had seen her in her underwear before, multiple times, but she doubted he'd be interested in seeing her like that ever again.

She pulled on her short purple dress with its black lace trimmings, smiling to herself as she remembered the morning he'd given her a lift. He'd been so adorable as he'd stood gaping up at her when she'd started to walk down the stairs. Definitely a boy. A man wouldn't have gaped at her like that at the sight of what was up her dress. She hadn't been able to stop herself from laughing when he'd suddenly looked away; it wasn't as if there was anything left to see up her dress by the time he had! He was certainly a completely adorable boy. He'd even pretended to be gay to get her out of trouble and then poured his heart out outside the nightclub.

Poured his heart out.

She shook her head. He was a boy. She had just been a silly little high school crush. Crushes like that happened all the time. He'd been so sweet and adorable though. He'd seemed more mature than the rest of her students, but that could have been because he had been a whole year older. Sanji had been the same age though. He was just at the opposite end of the scale that defines those 'more mature'. Although, Robin couldn't help but wonder how Nami had felt about her boyfriend pretending to be gay with Zoro for the sake of her career. Nami and Sanji were together, right? Or perhaps Nami just knew what buttons to press? She could always ask whenever she next saw them.

Robin made her way out of her bedroom and down the stairs in search of breakfast. A quick bowl of cereal and then she would go catch a bus to get some grocery shopping. She settled for a coffee. Again. She flicked the switch on the kettle and lifted a mug off of the shelf. She sighed as she lifted the almost empty jar of instant coffee and finished removing its contents. She'd been cutting it a little fine this time. Perhaps she should buy two large jars this week instead of one? She glanced back over her shoulder at the front door, watching the stained glass for a shadow. She knew he wouldn't visit, not after how things ended. What things!? They never started a relationship, never mind ended one!

Zoro had told her that he loved her.

The mug shattered as it hit the floor. She looked down at the broken shards of mug that she had poured the last of her coffee into. What was wrong with her? She had been fine! So what if she'd been drinking more coffee than usual, it wasn't bothering anyone! She flicked the kettle off and bent down to start picking up the pieces of mug. She didn't even care if the broken pieces of porcelain cut her; all she could think of was Zoro.

She glared coldly at the last of coffee granules scattered across the floor. It just wasn't fair. Why did he have to come back now? Why at all? She didn't know where he'd moved to and she didn't care. He had no reason to come visit Koshiro. He worked for Koshiro. She should have moved. She should have tried to get another temporary transfer for this year and just sold her house.

Robin jumped as she heard a knock on the door. She took a deep breath, trying to persuade herself that it wouldn't be Zoro. She turned around to look at the front door and started to laugh at herself. Unless Zoro had grown over five inches in the last two years and the muscle that he had appeared to have in the car had been completely in her imagination, this person could not be him. This man was clearly very tall and very finely built, from what she could see through the panes of stained glass as she approached the front door.

"Hello, may I help you?" She smiled up at the man, clearly not all that much younger than herself, as she opened the door. It wasn't often she was looking _up_ at someone. She would have placed this particularly tall man in his mid to late twenties, but something told her that 'mid-twenties' was fairly accurate.

"Hello, Miss...Nico?" The tall man began, glancing at the small, brown package in his hand, before continuing as she nodded her confirmation. "Hello. My partner thought that your name should have changed, but I see he must be mistaken. A parcel arrived for you the other day, but Koshiro has been busy with the dojo. I offered to bring it over."

"Thank you, that is very kind of you...?" She began carefully, waiting for him to complete her sentence by introducing himself.

"Doctor Trafalgar Law." He nodded, offering her his hand. "I believe you are Miss Nico Robin, the history teacher from my partner's old high school."

"That would depend on who your partner was." She smiled up at the taller supposed gentleman, feeling a slight coldness directed at her.

He was easily at least an inch taller than her and she could tell, even through his slightly baggy black t-shirt, that he was lean. In fact, he was very likely as lean as Zoro's friend Sanji that had been in her class with him. This particular man had a mop of tufted black hair that fell just short of his eyes with neatly groomed matching black sideburns that defined the top of his jaw line perfectly. He even had a little black goatee that seemed just as well maintained as the sideburns, making her wonder about his very dishevelled mop; it almost looked like hat-hair. Each of his earlobes had been pierced twice and held thick, yellow gold loops that almost clashed with the silvery grey of his narrowed eyes.

"I am sure you have already realised, considering you are an intelligent person and I have just come from Koshiro's." He returned, maintaining a firm grip on her hand as his expression remained serious.

"I was not aware that Koshiro had a business partner? I know that Zoro-"

"I'm afraid you have the wrong type of 'partner'. Koshiro is not my business partner, but rather Zoro is my partner, as in a more serious level of relationship than 'boyfriends'." Law corrected, an almost challenging note to his voice. "I hope you do not have a problem with that?"

"Congratulations." She replied, holding onto her perfect fake smile. She hoped that this man could not truly see through it, as he seemed to do. "It will be nice to see Zoro happy and in a serious relationship. I was not sure about his relationship with Sanji...I had thought that Sanji and Nami had been together when it came out that the two young men were seeing each other."

"You and I both know the truth behind that, _Robin_." He glared, making her freeze slightly where she stood. "Stay away from my partner. I have no intention of letting you close enough to hurt him like that again."

"I do not know what you mean?" She frowned, trying to feign ignorance.

"Zoro already told me about his little sixth year crush and how that ended." He began, a cold venom weaving through his voice. "It took me months to get him really talking again and I didn't like what he told me; you abused your position as his teacher and manipulated him, _groomed_ him, so that he did what you wanted him to. He even gave you a peep show and saved your career after you'd been caught. After everything you put him through, you just threw him away." He continued, an almost threatening tone to his voice. "He was a boy and you know it."

"If he was a boy then, what is he now?" She returned, pulling herself up straighter in indignation at such disgusting accusations.

"Zoro? I saw you watching us when we arrived." He smirked, finally releasing her hand and passing her the little package wrapped in the typical thick brown paper. "We both know he's a _man_ now." He smirked back at her as he turned to walk back down her garden path. "And he's _mine_."

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 **Hope you enjoyed this! I'm even being adventurous! _megaME_ suggested Perona or Law, so I went for Law and went for a 'rarer' sexuality! Hopefully I've managed to pull this off! XD If you don't like yaoi, don't worry! Other than the occasional kiss or hint, there will be no 'sexual' interaction between Zoro and Law _written_ in this. The next chapter is called 'A Glimpse of the Past'. Hope you've enjoyed this and will look forward to chapter two's arrival on Monday! XD**


	2. Chapter 2 - A Glimpse of the Past

**AN: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda.**

 **Hey! Today you're getting Chapter Two, so hope you enjoy it! ^_^**

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 **Chapter Two – A Glimpse of the Past**

Robin frowned at the glass jar of cheap instant coffee gripped tightly in her hand. She silently watched the taller, leaner _man_ walking confidently down her garden path. His narrower hips still taunted her mind as she walked around the shop. She sighed, wishing that she could get his final words out of her mind. Zoro belonged to someone else now. She couldn't argue, but she couldn't help but feel confused and disappointed. Maybe she really had been right to turn him away?

She had thought that the idea of Zoro being genuinely gay had just been a spur of the moment idea to save her job; how could she have been so wrong? He had told her that he loved her, so he could not be gay, could he? A _gay_ boy could not develop such a strong crush on his _female_ teacher. He had felt something for her; she was sure at least that much was genuine. She nodded firmly to herself and placed the jar into her shopping basket.

Zoro wasn't gay – he was just one of the other different sexualities...Which one was he?

She pursed her lips as she silently lectured herself. It was none of her business what his sexuality was. It didn't affect him as a person or her personally. He was still the same boy as he was then. She didn't need to give him some sort of label. It didn't change who he was. It's just that she just happened to be the one that had encouraged him to explore the world of sexuality.

 _It took me months to get him really talking again_.

His boyfriend was exaggerating to make her feel guilty. He was trying to make her feel unnecessary guilt to keep her away. If he really did know about everything, then they both knew that Zoro had known that she was engaged. In fact, he'd known the whole time that she'd had a boyfriend. He should have known that they weren't going anywhere. He had no reason to be upset with her; it wasn't her fault. She didn't have anything to feel guilty about concerning Zoro.

So why had it been so hard to walk away?

"Miss Ni-, em, Robin...?" A friendly female voice began, its faltering amusing her greatly.

"Nami, hello." She smiled back as she turned to look at the girl she had seen every weekday until two years ago. In fact, it was nice to be able to finally give someone a _genuine_ smile after several months of forced ones. "You may indeed call me Robin. However, my full name is still Nico Robin."

"So you really didn't get married?" The girl frowned back, her complete change in appearance catching Robin by surprise.

Her orange hair was now brushing her lower back and hung in a sea of waves, rather than in its previous short, straight style. She had even gained an inch or two in height, but the rest of the height increase was an illusion created by a set of tall, strappy, orange wedges. Robin resisted the urge to comment on the girl's now bulging chest. It had been generous during her last year in high school, but now it almost seemed disproportionate in comparison to her tiny waist, not that Robin herself could say anything. Law hadn't even glanced at her chest. She held in her frown, deciding against letting the girl realise her mind was elsewhere.

"No, I took the advice of a dear friend and called it off." She replied, maintaining a warm smile.

"Oh, sorry," Nami began awkwardly, her gaze moving to Robin's shoulder from her eyes, "what happened?"

"A friend told me that my fiancé wasn't the one for me, but it took a year and a room full of colleagues to finally accept what they said." Robin smiled, watching Nami carefully as the girl's gaze dropped lower. "How are your friends?"

"Oh, Sanji and Zoro?" Nami smirked, shaking her head. "Sanji now works fulltime in his dad's restaurant and Zoro _was_ working fulltime at the dojo, but he was actually going house hunting last I heard."

"House hunting?" Robin echoed, increasingly curious as a soft, almost sad smile appeared across Nami's lips.

"Yeah, he's moving away. He did say something to Luffy about being back for a while until him and his boyfriend can move into their new place. I think they're staying at Koshiro's?" Nami explained, finally bringing her eyes back up to Robin's. "His boyfriend has been pretty good for him, you know? I doubt Zoro was your favourite student in the world, but by the end of sixth year, he was actually almost a completely different person. He'd actually started studying and he'd stopped falling asleep in class. He used to be really quiet and reserved, but he'd really started coming out of his shell. I don't know what happened, but after his exams were over, he was worse than ever. He wasn't even arguing with Sanji."

Robin tensed, trying to hide her surprise as Nami's weakening smile suddenly changed to a frown, her brown eyes focused solely on Robin. She glanced down at the coffee jar in her basket, trying to gather her thoughts. She hadn't even had her morning coffee yet and now she'd bumped into Nami of all people. She was good for finding out information from, but if she realised there was something wrong? Robin would have a hard time stopping her from investigating, especially something that involved her friends. She brought her smile back up to meet the girl, trying to look a little puzzled.

"Why would it be surprising for him to not argue with Sanji? I thought the two of them were together?" She offered, hoping Nami would accept her choice of path for their conversation.

"Hahaha, no! It did work surprisingly well, but no." Nami laughed, shaking her head slightly. "Apparently Zoro got into trouble with the Head for flirting with a female teacher, so he shouted – in front of _Koshiro_ of all people – that he was gay and in love with Sanji. Sanji said that as 'flattered' as he was for being the first person to come to mind, he would never go out with a 'marimo like him'. He still went along with it since there was 'a beautiful lady at risk' of course. He never told us who she was though and neither did Zoro."

"Fufufufu, and now we find out Zoro really was gay." Robin replied in forced amusement.

"Oh, I guess...I hadn't really thought about it, but I don't know if he's ever been interested in a girl before. Obviously I'd heard about him getting into trouble for flirting with a teacher, but the idea seems so bizarre? He wasn't really one for talking about things like that, but we all knew he was turning girls away. The idea of him actually being interested in someone?" Nami mused, completely unaware that she was talking about the female teacher in question.

"Perhaps he just prefers older _people_." Robin offered, trying to keep her smile friendly but free of the amusement and curiosity she truly felt.

"Well, the first I heard of him definitely liking someone was when he brought Law to one of our parties." Nami frowned thoughtfully. "Law is his boyfriend's name by the way!" She suddenly blurted out, making Robin laugh, before she continued. "Law had come to a few parties before, but he'd either come with a couple of his friends or on his own. We all got a surprise when he walked in with his arm over Zoro's shoulder. You should have see Zoro's face! We'd honestly have just thought they were genuinely just friends, sharing some sort of joke, if it hadn't been for how embarrassed Zoro had been!" Nami giggled, a huge grin that had an almost evil look to it across her face. "His face actually managed to get brighter when Law kissed him!"

"Fufufufu, I bet he was very embarrassed, indeed! How did they actually meet?" Robin asked, hoping that it seemed more like she was just continuing a friendly conversation and not interrogating the poor girl.

"Zoro and Law? We all went to one of Zoro's competitions _years_ ago. We hadn't actually _really_ known him long, but Luffy was determined to get him to join us, so he asked Zoro repeatedly what he was doing 'this weekend'. _Eventually_ Zoro cracked and _yelled_ at him that he had a competition. That decided our group plans for _that_ weekend." Nami sighed, her amusement changed in an instant. "Anyway, while we were there, Luffy tried to punch Usoppe on the shoulder and Usoppe dodged it – Luffy's punches really hurt – well, someone just happened to step into the space that Usoppe _had_ just been standing in."

"Luffy just punched a complete stranger? I hope he apologised!" Robin began lecturing, her inner teacher managing to slip out.

"Well, the thing is, this someone just happened to be a six-foot-odd twenty-one year old guy with a katana." She replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. "He was taking part in the Men's Over Eighteens it turns out, but, as you guessed, he wasn't particularly happy with Luffy. Anyway, Zoro just happened to find us at that point and told this guy, who was about a foot taller than him, to leave us alone. Koshiro appeared just in time to stop the fight. He got Luffy to apologise and we all just sort of started talking."

"If he was a foot taller than Zoro, how old were all of you?" Robin frowned, trying to hide her surprise.

"Well, Zoro and Sanji were sixteen, but the rest of us were still fifteen." Nami nodded, before her eyes suddenly widened. "Don't worry! I'm sure Law had no interest in Zoro back then! I think it was more of a gradual thing? We kept seeing him at Zoro's competitions, then just after fifth year, Koshiro had him over for a demonstration thing. The two of them really got talking at that, but after Zoro finished high school, Zoro almost completely cut himself off. Law was the one that apparently got him talking again? It was a few months after that that they started actually 'dating'. Their dating is apparently training and then having dinner and a couple of drinks. Law seems like a pretty nice guy, so I'm definitely happy for him...It's just been really... _weird_ since he left to go house hunting."

"Whe-" Robin began, cutting off as a phone began ringing.

"I'll be there in a minute; I just bumped into someone, okay?" Nami soothed as she answered, not even looking to check who had been calling her. She hung up as a rush of worried sounding words began flooding out of her phone and turned back to Robin. "Sorry, Sanji thought something had happened to me. I'd better get back before he checks in again. He wasn't happy when I said I'd save him, but his dad was watching so he didn't have much of a choice." She mused as she dropped her phone back into her bag. "We're all meeting up at his dad's restaurant tonight, if you want to come?"

"I'm not su-"

"Nonsense! I'm sure everyone would love to see you to tell you everything they've been up to!" Nami exclaimed, shaking her head at Robin with a friendly smile. "We'll be there about ten."

"You know what, I think I will." Robin smiled back, laying a hand on Nami's shoulder.

Nami grinned and turned away towards the packed tills. She waved back over her shoulder and quickly found herself at the front of a queue. Robin wasn't going to ask why four guys had just stepped aside to let Nami in front of them. She looked back down at her own basket, the large jar of coffee staring back at her. She lifted her gaze back to the shelf filled with various coffees and found exactly what she was looking for. She picked up a bag of ground roasted coffee beans, ignoring the large jar of instant coffee that she had originally planned to buy. One large jar of instant and one bag of particularly nice coffee beans; why should she not treat herself?

She continued along the aisle, a pleased smile across her lips. She had survived both an encounter with Zoro's boyfriend and one of his closest friends. His boyfriend was a little cold towards her, but Nami had been as friendly as always. Robin was almost looking forward to finding out how the wild group of friends had been and perhaps she could even convince herself that she had done the right thing two years ago. She glanced back over her shoulder just in time to see Nami disappear out the shop doors.

Robin slipped in behind the end of the aisle and smiled to herself. Everything would be fine. She would realise that she had done the right thing turning the boy away two years ago. She wouldn't feel the need to avoid him anymore. She would be able to converse with him as if nothing had ever happened between them. She would get to meet his new boyfriend properly. Then again, this boyfriend wasn't new...and he knew everything. Zoro was in a serious relationship with a man who hated her. Tonight really wasn't a good idea.

Robin walked into the next aisle and tried to focus on her grocery shopping, trying to ignore the potential impending doom.

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 **Hope you enjoyed this! ^_^**

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 **Guys, I honestly want to cry...Some of you may know, I've been really ill lately. Sadly, this means it's really difficult to focus and I end up worse if I stare at a screen for too long, just because my body is that drained from being ill. Why am I explaining this when I haven't before now? I was typing up the last review response and I must have hit a wrong button. It deleted _everything_ that I'd added to this document since opening 'edit', which means I now need to rewrite the responses I've just spent over an hour making coherent. I'm really sorry if they don't make sense now, but I'm trying get this to you on time ;-;**

 ** _crushvox_ , awww, are your Monday's usually bad? I actually look forward to Mondays! Only because I get to hear from wonderful fellow Zorobin shippers! XD Hahaha, you're welcome, but I had to be prodded out of the downward spiral of 'why is everything I write for this just utter angst?' XD I loved both options, but Law worked better for this and make it seem like Zoro has a type; lean, taller, older dark haired with a dark scene of humour! XD If I'd used Perona, it would have seemed more like he was trying to avoid her and found himself a girl that was the complete opposite of her ^_^ I will try! ^_^ Hope you enjoyed this!**

 ** _megaME-chwan~,_** ***evil laugh* yes. I'm ecstatic that you're already enjoying this! XD Awww, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to put you into withdrawal! I'm still actually on my 'week off', so I'm only on here to update, but hopefully things will be finally starting to pick up by Monday! :) Hope you liked this chapter too! XD**

 _ **Robin**_ ** _Roronoa-swan~_ , hahaha, glad you liked it! XD Hehe, no, no! XD I played with Zoro and Sanji's relationship in 'His Sixth Year Crush', so I'm playing with Robin and Nami's this time! ^_^ Yeah, I know not everyone likes yaoi, so I kept it to a minimum! It's also supposed to focus more on Robin and Zoro's relationship than Zoro and Law's! The closest it get's to yaoi is Law's behaviour at times to 'prove his point', so you really don't need to worry ^_^ *-* *wishes to wrap you up in a giant bear hug* I must have at least done something right for the first chapter! Yay! *\o/* Hope you enjoyed this second one! XD**

 _ **'Guest'**_ **, *grinning like the Cheshire Cat* I love everything in your review, it honestly has me grinning like an idiot! XD I agree with you on all points and I'm ecstatic that you liked Zoro's confession so much! XD This wait was a little smaller than usual (it's normally about one week), but I'm very happy to be able to oblige you! XD Sadly Robin and Zoro haven't bumped into each other yet, but they can hardly avoid each other 'tonight', can they?! XD Hope you enjoyed this! XD**

 **'Guest', I know, but that must have been pretty confusing for her too when she was his teacher! ^_^ I'm really glad you liked it though and I hope that they make up too! XD Hope this one appealed to you too! XD**

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 **So, the next chapter is called 'Truly Moving' 3;P See you on Monday~! ^_^**


	3. Chapter 3 - Truly Moving

**AN: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda!**

 **Hey! Hope you enjoy this chapter! ^_^**

* * *

 **Chapter Three – Truly Moving**

Robin tried to walk tall as she stepped in through the front door of the Baratie. She smiled to the man at the door and waved him away when he began telling her that they were finished for meals. She pulled lightly at the hem of her green and white stripped dress as she scanned the room for the group of friends. Zoro had seemed to like when she had worn this dress before, but perhaps it had been the wrong choice for tonight? What if he took it as a sign that she wanted to be more than... _acquaintances_?

She was here to convince herself that she had been right about him, that he would have gotten bored and moved on. She needed to convince herself that Zoro really wasn't the one she had wanted to be standing opposite her at that altar over a year ago. Michael just hadn't been the right man for her. He had been the one to cheat and constantly make her feel worthless. She deserved better, just like Zoro had said.

Zoro was a _boy_ and he knew _nothing_ about her past.

She smiled as Nami suddenly caught her eye. She was wearing a smart little strappy black dress that showed off her tiny waist and giant bust perfectly. Robin nodded to the orange haired girl with a friendly smile before glancing down at her own dress; perhaps she was just a little underdressed. She looked back at Nami to see her nodding her head towards the bar with a happy smile of her own.

Sure enough, Luffy and Usoppe were already sitting there laughing. They may be older and more muscular, but it certainly seemed as if they were the same two boisterous clowns. Luffy was wearing a red vest top and baggy blue shorts with a pair of flip-flops – clearly much to the disapproval of the man working behind the bar. Usoppe was wearing a pair of sandy coloured baggy trousers and orange braces with a white t-shirt under them. Robin laughed quietly as she spotted his heavy pair of boots. Perhaps Nami was the one who was overdressed?

She looked back towards Nami as she began to walk over to the two boys she had met several times in the corridors of the high school. She laughed quietly to herself as she realised her mistake. Nami was wearing a little white semicircular apron around her waist. She was a waitress. Did she work here fulltime? Or was this just a summer job? Robin knew that Nami had made it into university, but that had been two years ago; anything could happen in two years.

"Oi! Will you two keep it down?" A familiar voice snapped. "My old man's getting pissed, so I'm going to have to kick your noisy asses out if you don't shut up!"

"Sanji." Robin greeted the blonde with a warm smile, tensing as Sanji stared disbelievingly at her.

"Mi-Miss Nico?" He stammered, slowly straightening himself up as he continued to stare. "It's very lovely to see you again." He continued, starting to fit back into his old self again.

"And it is wonderful to see you again too, Sanji." She replied, her smile brightening as the young man's awkwardness began to disappear.

He looked rather smart standing there in his suit. She had thought he was a chef here, but clearly not. If he had been, he would have been in a set of chef-whites. His blonde hair still looked as shiny, soft and long, but his fringe now fell over his right eye rather than his left. The few hairs that he had grown on his chin while he had been in school were now an actual goatee and a few hairs now speckled his top lip. His left eyebrow, she noticed, spiralled on the nose-side, rather than the ear-side like his right previously had. Perhaps his eyebrows did not have _mirror_ symmetry?

"I am sorry to say that the kitchen is closed for meals now, however I am sure I could personally make you something light?" Sanji offered, bowing apologetically to her. "We could not have something heavy resting in your womanly stomach this late at night."

"Ah, I did not come to eat, I believe? I met Nami earlier while I was getting my grocery shopping and she invited me. Shall I go?" Robin inquired, glancing over at Nami and wondering why she wouldn't have said anything to her friends.

"No, no, Miss Nico~! I had not realised that you were the friend that Nami~ had met! She had said that I would like the surprise~!" He cooed, spinning up to her to take her hand and lead her up to the bar. "Oi, idiots! You remember Miss Ni- I am so sorry! I forgot that you were married now! You must forgive me, my beautiful lady, but I do not know how to address you?" He suddenly began, turning back to her as the two boys at the bar suddenly turned and grinned at her.

"Do not worry, Sanji." She smiled back fondly. "I did not marry Mr Dundee in the end, so I am still Nico Robin. I believe you will also find that I am no longer your teacher, so you may call me 'Robin'."

"Shishishishi! Zoro used to call you Robin all the time!" Luffy threw in, slapping Sanji on the back and knocking him forward to almost crash into Robin.

"Luffy!" Sanji barked, turning to glare at the laughing boy. "Robin~, if you will give me just a minute, there is something I must do. I'm afraid that means you will have to humour these fools, but I am sure a capable, intelligent woman such as yourself can handle them!" He continued, before dashing into the kitchen.

"Hello, Luffy, Usoppe." She smiled, taking a seat on a barstool. "How have the two of you been?"

"We've been travelling with my brother!" Luffy exclaimed loudly, earning them a few glares. "He's a fighter and he travels all over the world! I'm going to beat him to World Champion though!"

"Luffy, you need to get into the championship for _this_ country before you can move onto the ones for _other_ countries, never mind the _continent_! Even then, it's almost impossible to get the right to challenge for the _world_." Usoppe explained to him with an obviously exasperated tone. "Sorry, Robin."

"It is fine, Usoppe – it is nice to see his enthusiasm. I have actually seen very little enthusiasm this past year. No-one seems to truly be interested in history anymore, or anything else. It makes a nice change to hear such overconfidence and determination." She replied honestly, smiling at the frizzy haired boy.

"So, what have you been up to, Robin?" Nami slipped in over her shoulder.

"Ah, Nami." She smiled back at the girl. "Well, after your year left, I spent a year planning a wedding while still working at the high school. I called the wedding off last June and heading off to an excavation site for the summer, as I usually do. Then I went to do a transfer year at another school." She listed almost detachedly.

"Any particular reason for that?" A familiar voice asked, sending a chill down Robin's spine.

"Zoro! Law! You made it! It's been too long!" Nami exclaimed, grinning happily up at the two men as Robin turned in her seat.

"Hey, Nami." Zoro nodded, his eyes not leaving Robin as he accepted the orange haired girl's hug.

"Marimo, did you get my message...?" Sanji asked, an almost apologetic tone to his voice.

"I was just parking up when it came in." Zoro replied, sparing Sanji a reassuring glance before wrapping his right arm around Law's narrow hips, his left still around Nami's shoulders. "Nice to see you again, Robin."

"It is very nice to see you again too, Zoro." Robin replied, holding onto her smile desperately. "I hope you have been well?"

"Fine, thanks." He grunted, his right hand tightening on Law's hip and creasing the taller man's white shirt.

"What are you having to drink, Zoro?" Law asked gently, leaning his head closer to Zoro.

"Just a beer." Zoro nodded, blushing slightly as Law finished closing the gap to kiss him.

Robin watched as Law wrapped his long arms around Zoro's neck, an eye watching Robin closely. He seemed to deepen the kiss and Robin found herself having to look away, unable to keep watching. Why did she suddenly wish it was her kissing him? She had kissed Zoro before and it hadn't meant anything. Or it shouldn't have. She couldn't deny that his kiss had been the best kiss she'd ever had.

She bit her lip as she remembered the hot intensity of their kiss, the feel of him grinding against her, his strong hands all over her body. She closed her eyes and silently cursed her memories for choosing now to resurface. Now was not the time to hunger for him. Now was the time for reminding herself that he was taken. Not that she was truly interested in-

"Two beers, please." Law's voice cut through her thoughts as he spoke to the bartender. "Just remember what I said, _Robin_." He hissed into her ear. "You try to mess with his head again and I'll see to it that you end up with _life_."

The evening passed reasonably quietly – quietly for Luffy anyway – as they all sat at the bar long past closing time. Law had never left Zoro's side, constantly guarding him from her. He'd made sure that he was always between them, even going so far as to talk Zoro into going to the bathroom with him. Zoro had looked a little dishevelled when they had returned and Law appeared to have attempted to tidy his tufted dark hair, but had clearly done a better job of tidying himself up than Zoro.

Apparently Law had even decided to be the designated driver for the night. After his first beer, he had changed onto apple juice. He and Sanji had had a perfectly sober conversation while everyone else was merrily chatting away. He kept casting Robin warning glances whenever Sanji looked away from him, only to glare at Sanji every time the blonde shared a joke with Zoro. Robin was almost grateful when Nami had positioned herself between Robin and Sanji and Sanji was currently between Nami and Law. It was harder for the doctor to glare at her unnoticed past _two_ people.

The group suddenly went quiet as Law stood up, gaining their attention, as he answered his phone. He leant over to mutter something into Zoro's ear, earning a nod from the green haired young man. Law quickly kissed him and made for the door in a hurry. He suddenly called back over to the group before disappearing out the door with Zoro's car keys in his hand. Robin turned to look at Nami, who in turn looked over to Zoro. Zoro just shrugged back at her and went back to his pint, suddenly much less interested in Luffy and Usoppe's tales.

"What was that about?" Robin frowned as she watched the green haired young man staring into his pint, looking completely abandoned.

"Oh, em, Law's a surgeon." Nami nodded, still watching Zoro. "I guess he must have been on call tonight. If he is, I'm surprised he had a pint at all. I hope the person's alright."

"Hm, well, if Dr Trafalgar is good at his job, then the person will be." Robin reassured, sparing Nami a glance before returning to studying Zoro.

"Dr Trafalgar? That's a little formal!" Nami laughed as she turned to look at Robin incredulously, gaining Zoro's attention.

"That is how he introduced himself this morning; Doctor Trafalgar Law, Zoro's partner, as in a more serious level of relationship than 'boyfriends'." Robin explained, enjoying the sudden blush to Zoro's cheeks that she could see out the corner of her eye as she smiled at the girl.

"Oooh, Zoro! He's quite the catch, isn't he!?" She suddenly called out, spinning on her stood to look directly at the red faced, green haired young man.

"Shut it, witch!" He snapped, quickly downing his pint and getting up from his stool to move around the back of the bar. "We're buying a place together, so yeah, it is pretty damn serious." He finished, beginning to pour himself another pint.

"Oh..." Nami frowned down at the floor, her hand moving up to rub her arm awkwardly. "I thought you were just going to be renting there...So you really are moving away?"

"Yeah..." He replied, an almost regretful tone to his voice. "We actually found a place just before we got back. We've had the confirmation, but it'll be a couple of months before we can move in. We're staying with Koshiro until then."

The air felt thick and heavy in the awkward silence as no-one dared to look at each other. The realisation of the fact that Zoro really was moving away hung there, slowly sinking in. As Robin let her gaze move to Zoro, she could see that even he wasn't happy about it. She didn't know what she could say to cheer them all up, but she had to say or do something. She had moved several times during her life. Moving wasn't an end, it was a fresh start. She knew without asking that Zoro didn't want a fresh start. He didn't want to leave his friends.

"I'm sure you will manage to stay in touch and everyone will visit, won't you?" Robin smiled more cheerfully than she felt as she looked around the group, earning some grins and shouted agreements from Luffy and Usoppe.

"It's not as if it'll just be the two of you out there for long," Sanji began and Robin almost dreaded what he was going to say next as Nami tensed next to her, "I got the go ahead from my old man, so I'll be moving out there in three or four months to start looking at places for the new restaurant."

"Great, thanks, Ero-cook, just what I needed." Zoro replied sarcastically, a genuine smile hidden behind his smirk.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed this! ^_^**

* * *

 **I'm really sorry about last week. I hope I didn't upset anyone :(**

 **Anyway, review responses!**

 ** _megaME_ -chwaaan~, hope this chapter was interesting! Did he and Law react how you expected? ^_^**

 _ **Robin Roronoa**_ **-swaaan~** _ **,**_ **it might, you never know! ;D Hopefully they'll be able to finally talk when they get to be alone 3;P Thanks :) They're not sure what's wrong, but they've given me something for the symptoms so I'm actually feeling a lot better this week! ^_^ *tearfully hugs back with joy* I really hope I didn't upset anyone...sorry :(**

 **'Guest', hehe, well now they've met, but it's kinda hard to have a personal conversation with everyone there, right? ;) Maybe you'll get that chat next week!?**

* * *

 **So, next week's chapter is called 'Trapped in a Car'! ^_^ See you then~!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Trapped in a Car

**AN: One Piece belongs t Eiichiro Oda!**

 **THIS HAD NO REASON TO BE LATE! YES, I AM ANNOYED WITH MYSELF. I'VE HAVE THIS READY TO POST SINCE 8AM! FOUR HOURS EARLY! GENUINELY SORRY FOR THE DELAY! I'm working on my Zoro cosplay and I completely forgot I hadn't posted this yet *sigh***

 **Hey! ^_^ Ok, a little slip up to mention! I actually meant to ask a question at the end of the last chapter...I have a terrible sense of humour. Anyway, I sat for over an hour going "Who would call their kid Crocodile?" :P It's not really a name, is it? Then I realised that it _is_ a nickname. I'm not saying that Mike Dundee and Crocodile from One Piece are remotely alike, it just appealed to my sense of humour :) Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter Four – Trapped in a Car**

"Hey..." Robin began awkwardly as Sanji started locking up the restaurant.

"Hey." Zoro nodded back without looking at her.

"Em, I was just wondering...how long have you and Sanji been planning this move?" She asked, changing her wording slightly to make sure that she didn't just sound jealous and bitter.

Zoro eyed her warily for a moment, clearing trying to decide on her motives. She shifted slightly, glancing down at her watch. She could feel her body's shaking increasing. Her hands had begun shaking over an hour ago but she had ignored them. Now she really needed to get home, but right now, these people around her were more important. She could ignore her own problems for them. Nami had been her charge for a whole year while Zoro and Sanji had actually been in her class, so of course she would feel this protective of them. Zoro clearly wasn't happy about the move and there seemed to be more to Nami's avoidance of the subject than she cared to admit to.

"Four months." Zoro grunted, finally drawing her back out of her thoughts. "Law got the offer of a job at another hospital and he said it would be good for me to have a change of scenery. I figured he was probably right. As for Sanji, I think he's using me as an excuse to his old man to escape and start his own restaurant."

"Fufufufu, I am sure he cares more about you than that, Zoro." Robin mused, a small smile creeping onto her lips.

"Yeah, I know..." He sighed, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I think he's being a little blind though, don't you?"

"Hm, definitely." She agreed quietly, shooting a glance at the orange haired girl lecturing Luffy for stealing from the kitchen, only to have Sanji join her in yelling. "Why has he not noticed? I'd thought they were already together while they were at high school."

"No, that was a common assumption though." Zoro smirked, shaking his head at the pouting Luffy. "He's an idiot to leave her behind, but he's never believed me when I tell him that she genuinely likes him. He got used to being pushed away unless he was 'needed'...Don't think he noticed it was always him that she went to."

"She didn't want to let herself get attached to him because of the way he is and now she wishes that she'd said something." Robin nodded, watching Nami and Sanji still standing lecturing the poor boy.

"Not sure what to say to that." Zoro sighed, his attention dropping to his feet.

"I was talking about Nami," Robin reassured, resisting the urge to reach out to touch his arm, "but I do regret what happened. I did say something though, Zoro."

"Yeah, you told me that a relationship with me could never have lasted." He snapped, coughing quietly as Sanji flinched. The others seemed to remain oblivious to their conversation, so perhaps Sanji was intentionally eavesdropping?

"Zoro, you were still a boy." Robin returned as she watched the rest of the group carefully. "You know you were. You have a _boyfriend_ now anyway."

"What? Are you seriously upset about that?" Zoro glared, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"No, just confused...Did- Was I the one that made you interested in men?" She sighed, just asking him straight while she could. She needed to get it off of her chest somehow.

"No...? Look...I don't even know how to explain this...I'm not gay and you didn't make me interested in guys; I don't even know how you could do that." He snorted, clearly amused at her idea. "I don't know what I am, if I'm honest. I don't seem to just 'fall for anyone'...You and Law are the only ones I've actually been _sexually_ interested in...but it wasn't really 'straight away'? I'll admit I'd noticed you had a...How did Sanji put it? 'Great body'? But the thought of actual _sex_? I kept on getting weird things in my head that looked like pictures out of Sanji's magazines from time to time though? I was kinda more interested in getting to know you and, I don't know, finding out what it was that was so 'special' about you."

"Did you find anything...?" Robin asked, watching him carefully, not even sure what she was looking for.

"Special about you?" Zoro frowned, studying her as he tried to decide if she really was serious. "I'm not supposed to talk about them."

"Zoro?" She urged, not wanting him to stop talking yet. It had been too long and she'd missed him feeling able to talk to her.

"I actually thought I was going to end up alone...It hadn't bothered me before you, but after what you said...I'd never felt so alone. Not even these idiots could make me feel 'normal'." He began, a note of amusement lifting his tone towards the end as he glanced across at them. "If Law hadn't sliced me to pieces, I doubt I'd have 'woken up'...My daydream became my nightmare, all because the woman I'd fallen in love with told me that a relationship with me could never last. It's a pretty harsh thing to say to a nineteen year old who's finally fallen in love for the first time, wouldn't you agree?" He finished, giving her a cold glare that easily rivalled that of the one his boyfriend had given her that morning.

"Ah, Robin~, if you would kindly follow me, I shall take you home~!" Sanji cut in, preventing her from answering, although she had no idea what she could ever say.

"Thank you, Sanji." She nodded, offering Zoro a quick smile before following after the blonde.

Zoro didn't smile back.

"What was that about?" Nami whispered as she suddenly appeared by Robin's side.

"Nami~, I'm afraid I'll have to drop Robin~ off first?" Sanji sang, cutting Robin off again. She wasn't sure whether to be grateful or insulted.

"That's fine, Sanji." Nami smiled happily, an almost sad look trapped in her beautiful brown eyes. "Things have been really weird between you, Zoro and Law all evening," Nami continued, turning back to Robin, "has something happened?"

"Ah, I must confess something about when I met Law this morning." Robin replied, trying to seem guilty. "He came to give me a parcel that had been delivered to Koshiro's instead of mine and when he introduced himself as Zoro's partner, I'd been a little surprised...I believe he took my surprise as my being homophobic...He must have said something to Zoro."

"Did you correct him?" Nami gasped, taking hold of Robin's hand as they reached Sanji's polished red BMW convertible.

"Oi, Ero-cook, mind if I get a lift too?" Zoro grunted from behind them, making Nami jump.

"Why don't you call your _surgeon boyfriend_ , Marimo? I'm sure he'd be _thrilled_ to give you a lift, providing you return the favour, of course!" Sanji returned, folding his arms over his chest as he smirked proudly.

"He's working, ass. Now can I get a lift or not? Robin lives opposite my dad, so it's not as if you'd have to go out your way any more than you already are." Zoro glared back, clearly resisting the urge to rise to Sanji's challenge.

"He's working ass? Guess that answers the whole 'which one is top' mystery!" Sanji jeered as he moved to unlock the car. "Get in, Marimo."

"Breathe..." Robin heard Zoro hiss under his breath to himself, making her smile.

"Who _is_ on top?" Nami frowned, surprising Robin. Was it the alcohol or was this what she was really like when the teacher wasn't looking?

"Do we really have to talk about this?" Zoro grunted, his ears a charming crimson as he took the front seat.

"Why not?" Nami teased, leaning forward from her seat behind Sanji. "Are you on the bottom under all those _long, flexible_ limbs?"

"Just 'cause you want to be, doesn't mean everyone else does!" He snapped back, causing everyone to lurch forward in their seats as Sanji slammed on his brakes. They had barely moved a foot from where the chef had started reversing from the parking space. "What the fuck was that about?!"

"How dare you suggest Nami ~ would want to sleep with your boyfriend! She could never be so insensitive!" Sanji exclaimed, lifting his left foot from the foot well to dig his heel into the top of Zoro's leg.

"I didn't mean Law, moron! And you've just proved my damn point! Look at what you're fucking doing! How is that even possible!?" Zoro yelled back, waving his hands in the direction of Sanji's leg.

"Zoro, you should perhaps think before you say any more." Robin suggested calmly, flicking her eyes towards Nami to make sure he understood her.

"Shit...Sorry..." He muttered, glancing across at Nami as he said it, before elbowing Sanji in the shin. "Now get your damn foot out of my thigh!" He snapped.

They sat in heavy silence, their designated driver completely confused. How had he not grasped what Zoro had been getting at? Nami was still uncharacteristically quiet and he had not realised! Robin smiled reassuringly across at the girl next to her, suddenly becoming aware of Zoro staring at her as she did so. She smiled back at him and watched as he turned his attention to the still embarrassed girl. Should she say something to her? Or would things work out fine on their own?

"Hey, Nami, you going to actually speak or are you really _that_ embarrassed? You're worrying Ero-cook and Robin." He grunted, his deep voice filling the car completely and giving the poor girl nowhere to run.

"Why would I be embarrassed?" She returned defiantly, sitting up in her seat.

"Maybe because you started digging into my sex life and ended up practically having the name of your 'crush' revealed." Zoro smirked, pulling back out her reach.

"Nami~, you are actually interested in someone? Is it someone from your course? He better be planning to take care of you! If he doesn't, I'll come right back here to make everything better, ok~?" Sanji slipped in, glancing back at the orange haired girl in his rear-view mirror.

"Oh, he doesn't study anything except his own reflection." Zoro grinned, earning a perfectly horrified look from Sanji and a furious glare from Nami.

"Nami~, is that true?! I can't accept any man for you who'd put himself first like that!" Sanji exclaimed, trying to turn around in his seat to look back at her.

"Just watch where you're going!" Nami lectured, physically turning his head back to look through the windscreen. "No, he isn't. He does take care of himself, but he always puts me first...no matter what he has to go through or give up..."

"He sounds pretty perfect..." Sanji replied quietly as Zoro and Robin shared a glance, both waiting for the blonde to realise who Nami was talking about. "Are you going to ask him out...?"

"Well, actually, he's planning to move away...and I don't want to ask him in case he doesn't...because that's what he wants to do and I don't want him looking back in several years time, wishing that he hadn't given this up for me." Nami answered, slowly lifting her eyes to meet Sanji's reflected in the mirror as Robin gently squeezed her hand.

"I'm sure he could never regret giving something up for you, Nami~." Sanji sang back, an almost hidden note of sadness to his voice as he brought the car to a stop. "Now, Robin~, Marimo, I believe this is your stop."

"As soon as he pulls up at yours, tell him how you feel. Do not just let go." Robin whispered to Nami as she hugged the girl goodnight. "Don't make the same mistake that I did."

Robin pulled back and moved to open the car door, only to find that Zoro was already holding it open. She smiled up at him and waved goodnight to Sanji and Nami as she climbed out of the car's rear black, leather seats. She let Zoro close her door as she threw Nami one last smile. She nodded goodnight to Zoro and began to walk up her path, glancing back over her shoulder as she heard footsteps behind her. She smiled back at the green haired young man following her up the path in his partially unbuttoned dark green shirt and smart black trousers. He certainly looked older and more mature than he had two years previous; was that Law's influence? Or was it just the way Zoro was?

"Zoro-"

"Ero-cook told me I had to walk you to your door, even if I didn't feel like speaking to you." He grunted, cutting her off before she could say anything. "Thanks...for trying to help Nami. Like I said, Ero-cook won't believe me and, as you seen, Nami's feeling a little guilty. She's worried that he's leaving because he's had enough of her 'taking advantage of him'. It's nonsense, but he has always been a bit of a womaniser, at least since I met him...I can't imagine what it would be like to feel as if every girl on the planet was a rival."

"It's not easy. You begin to harden yourself, until someone comes along and says a few nice words to you. Then you realised just how... _unfair_ your life is." Robin explained quietly. "At least we all know that Sanji could never cheat."

"Yeah, he's a good guy." Zoro nodded, turning his back on her. "Law is too. You got me pretty good, you know that right? He spent a long time trying to give me some confidence...I don't know when I started to feel like this, but I know after tonight that Law's right about moving away. I could barely walk into the Baratie tonight, never mind living and never knowing which exact moment I'm going to see you."

"Zoro-"

"This is goodbye, Robin." Zoro called back quietly. "I just have one request; stay away from my friends until I'm gone. It just confuses shit even more when I see you being so friendly and... _caring_ with them."

"As you wish...Zoro."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next one is called 'Being Shattered' ^_^**

* * *

 _ **Robin Roronoa-swaaan~**_ **, how are you this week? As confused as poor Zoro? ;P**

 _ **megaME-chwaaan~,**_ **and Robin continues to be a threat *whistles innocently* I totally don't have plans for the next chapter 3;3**

 _ **'guest',**_ **hehe, no, that was intentional! XD I seriously have a terrible sense of humour...Glad you enjoyed the last chapter though! ^_^**


	5. Chapter 5 - Being Shattered

**AN: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda!**

 **I'm really sorry about how late this is, I truly am. Things were just a little too chaotic, but I did end up enjoying my two days as Zoro, so it was definitely worth it! My headache has finally shifted, so I'm back to being up and running! ...My mum actually has me shoveling out the bottom of the aviary, which is why this is late :P**

 **Please enjoy! :D**

* * *

 **Chapter Five – Being Shattered**

"Can I help you?" A cold voice asked over her shoulder as she flicked through a magazine.

"Hm, I wanted to ask how Nami is, but Zoro asked me to stay away from his friends." Robin nodded back to the man standing behind her chair in a set of dark blue scrubs. She hoped he hadn't been busy when the nurse had paged him for her. "I can hardly be breaking that rule by speaking to you and you dislike me already, so there is very little chance of a _conversation_."

"That's particularly interesting logic." Law smirked, shaking his head as he lowered himself down into the seat next to her. "Why would Nami _not_ be fine?"

"Oh? She seems a little upset about the move." Robin replied carefully, trying not to show her surprise. Why would Zoro not mention what happened the other night to his boyfriend?

"Right...Why? She doesn't seem all that attached to Zoro? Perhaps you are projecting?" Law suggested almost too airily as he glanced at the other people in the hospital waiting room.

"Actually, Zoro and Nami are particularly close, so I know I am not projecting. I believe he and his friends are more like family?" Robin nodded, feeling something twitch inside her. Why would Zoro not mention any of this? "She still has another two years of university, so it is not even as if she can just drop everything to follow after the two of you like Sanji is."

"Sanji?" Law frowned, his grey eyes narrowing as he studied her. "He's following us out there?"

"He said the other night that his father had given him the 'go ahead'," Robin began as her mind carefully tried to piece Law's reactions together with Zoro's decisions, "apparently he'll be starting up his own restaurant."

"Right...I'd forgotten about that." Law nodded thoughtfully as he slowly stood up from his chair. "I need to get back to work, but Nami is doing ok, so you don't need to worry about her."

...

Robin stared at the coffee machine, willing the water to heat faster, _needing_ it to heat faster. She was sure that it was taking longer every time. Maybe she needed a new one? Was this one dying on her too? She had only just bought it! This was why she'd just started getting instant coffee! Then again, she _was_ on her second kettle this month. She still needed to replace the mug that she'd thrown at the floor the morning that Zoro had come home. No, came back to Koshiro's. He didn't live there anymore.

Robin jumped as a loud thumping started on her front door.

She stared down at the shards of broken mug in disbelief. Two mugs in only one week. She'd just have to tidy it up after she'd seen to the constant banging on her door. Why did they have to keep making so much noise like that?! She hadn't even had her morning coffee yet! She looked at her hands as they shook, telling her that it was time for her next coffee. She needed to get rid of this person quickly. _Why_ won't they stop that annoying thump-

She stared at her front door.

Zoro was glaring at her through the stained glass, his eyes fixed on hers, as she stood there. She waved uncertainly at him as he finally finished hitting the bottom of his fist off of the glass. She took a few steps towards him and gulped as he tried the handle. She smiled at him and lifted the key off of the oak cabinet that sat at the bottom of the stairs. She could feel the intensity of his glare coursing through every inch of her. He stood less than two meters away on the other side of the glass. She couldn't help but wonder if perhaps it was a bad idea to open the door? He could obviously see she was there, but he didn't look like he was here for a friendly visit.

She turned the key in the lock.

"What the hell did I ask you to do?!" He roared as he threw the door open, almost knocking her off her feet.

"Zoro, calm down!" She snapped back, pressing her hands against his muscular shoulders.

"Calm down?! What the hell did you say to him!?" He yelled, grabbing her wrists and pushing her backward so that she was pressed into the gap between the cabinet and the bottom step of the stairs.

"Who? Law? I didn't say anything to him. I just asked him how Nami was; I was worried about her." Robin returned, trying to wriggle her wrists out of his grasp as he pinned her hands above her head.

"About _Sanji_! What the fuck did you say about Sanji?!" He exclaimed in what seemed almost like desperation. "Wh-What did you say about Sanji...?" He repeated, his initial fury passing as his head fell against her shoulder. "What did you tell Law? He's..."

"I didn't know that he was unaware of Sanji's plans..." She began, finally freeing one of her hands. She slipped her free hand into his now-longer green hair and rested her head on top of his. "I-I didn't mean to cause any trouble...I was-"

"Just checking up on Nami..." Zoro mumbled into her shoulder as she stroked his soft hair soothingly. "Why did you have to go to Law...?"

"You asked me to stay away from your friends and Law doesn't like me anyway, so I thought no harm could come from talking to him." Robin murmured quietly into his ear. "What happened?"

"Can we move from the front door...?" He grunted, slowly raising his head to look back at her.

"Sure." She smiled softly, stroking his hair one last time before Zoro released her.

She closed the door and turned the key in the lock again, making sure that no-one could follow Zoro in. She didn't know what state Law was in, but Zoro was certainly upset. Upset did not quite seem like the right word considering he had come to her. He'd come to her? Was he perhaps only coming to her because Law was upset with him? Like he'd ended up with Law when she had walked away from him? Koshiro was surprisingly still oblivious to what had happened; how had he even caught them in the first place?

She walked into the kitchen and began picking up the mug. She couldn't exactly have a serious conversation while her ridiculous mess lay on the floor. She felt a gentle hand on her waist and lifted her head. Zoro took the shards from her and placed them on the kitchen table, before leading her towards the living room. He opened the door and stopped. Robin turned her head away from him as he stared at her incredulously. She had never needed it, so why should she furnish it?

"It's just as well I stopped Nami from coming round." He muttered as he took her back to the kitchen.

"Nami was coming over?" She frowned, lowering herself into the seat that Zoro pulled out from the table for her.

"Yeah, she wanted to apologise for the other night," he began, turning back to the broken pieces of mug on the floor, "but I told her I'd pass on the message. I hadn't expected to come home to a pissed Law though." He grunted, throwing a glare over his shoulder. "Now, are you gonna tell me why you look like shit? You didn't exactly look much better on Saturday night. You'll also have to explain why you keep smashing up mugs."

"Mugs, Zoro?" She replied, trying to act completely innocent in the face of his accusation.

"Yeah, Law told me that you suddenly, _very forcefully_ , threw a mug at the floor last Saturday. Is this some sort of Saturday morning ritual?" He smirked, throwing the porcelain into the bin with the remains of the other mug and a large, empty, glass coffee jar. "You seem to have a lack of rubbish in your bin?" He added, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Perhaps we should return to the problem at hand?" She suggested pointedly as she stood up.

"Sit back down and, if you're a good girl, I'll make you the coffee you were clearly in the middle of making." He returned, folding his arms across in front of his broad chest. She nodded in defeat as she felt the shaking worsen and sat back down, feeling his eyes study her. "So, you've lost weight, you're paler and you seem to be shaking badly. Not to mention, the only evidence of you having had anything to eat or drink in the last week is an empty coffee jar."

"I'm fine, really." She smiled back, trying to ignore the growing headache.

"No, you're not. What food have you got in the house?" He sighed as he turned to the fridge.

He stood back up straight and closed the fridge door. He walked over to her little freezer that sat under the worktop where her microwave lay and pulled it open. He started muttering quietly to himself as he knelt down on the floor and began pulling frozen vegetables out of it. His face lit up as he tugged on something right at the back. She wasn't even sure what she still had in her freezer, but she doubted there would be anything edible.

She quietly laughed behind her hand as he held up some _very_ frozen bacon. The ice almost completely filled what had been the remaining space unoccupied by bacon inside the clear plastic packet. He shook it, but no sound escaped the crystallised bacon. He stood back up and marched up to the sink. He slammed the tap on hot and ripped the packet of bacon open, only to shove it under the rushing water.

"Right, you're having freezer-burned bacon and frozen mushrooms for breakfast, ok?" He smirked back at her, daring her to argue.

"Fine." She mused as he began searching for her pans. "The cupboard next to the cooker."

"Thanks." He grinned boyishly back at her as he pulled the cupboard open and grabbed the frying pan.

"Is there some scissors? If I cut the bacon up into pieces, it'll _hopefully_ mix together better." He frowned as he lifted the slightly crunchy defrosted bacon back out the sink.

"Top drawer, Zoro." She smiled, watching the young man start cutting the bacon up with a strange enthusiasm.

...

"So, are you going to explain?" Zoro sighed as he sat back in his chair, patting his stomach, having finished his plate of bacon and mushrooms.

"Explain what?" She smiled, hoping that he couldn't still recognise her fake ones.

"Don't give me that shit." He glared, sitting up again to lean on the table. "You're lashing out, you're not eating and, I'm guessing, you've developed a pretty serious caffeine addiction? Just a hunch going by how badly you were shaking before you had that overly strong coffee."

Robin lowered her eyes to stare at the empty plate. When had she last eaten properly? She'd had slices of coffee cake and cheese scones when she'd been in cafes, but she couldn't remember when she'd last cooked. She'd had to eat during the school year, but because it had been a temporary placement, she'd had very little need to do anything this summer. Normally she'd have been away on an excavation, but she didn't have the money to get to any after paying for half a wedding. She was still glad she'd had the sense to pre-book last year's trip, although her fiancé had almost cancelled it when she left him at the altar. If she hadn't used her own bank account to book it, he would have.

"It's been an interesting two years." She offered, still not looking back at him. He had no reason to listen to her and she certainly didn't deserve his sympathy.

"Even I know that much." He snorted, shaking his head at her. "How'd you end up in this mess? Last I'd seen you, you were telling me it had all been a mistake and you were engaged."

"After I walked out on you...I tried to go back to my normal life." She hummed into her mug, staring longingly at the bottom of the now-dry, pale blue porcelain. "I spent the next year planning the wedding and I was 'fine'."

"Lucky you." Zoro chipped in, a slightly bitter tone to his voice stabbing at her chest.

"As I was walking down the aisle, all I could think of was the things you said to me that night...I'd known that what you said about my ex was true... but I don't deserve to be happy...At least that's what I thought." She continued, finally lifting her eyes to meet his. "You told me that you'd show me that I was marrying the wrong man...and that you _loved_ me. No-one's ever said that before and truly meant it...It scared me, even though I 'knew' the one saying it was just a boy and that I was just his 'high school crush'...Look at you now; you cannot deny that you were a boy when you said those words to me."

"Yeah, well, I was definitely a _man_ when you walked out on me." He glared back, forcing another stabbing pain to shatter through her chest.

* * *

 **Hello! Hope you enjoyed this latest chapter! The next (and final) chapter will be up next Monday! It's called 'Ending the Games'!**

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 _ **Robin Roronoa**_ **-swan~! Sorry to leave you going insane! Hope you're keeping well!? Really glad you've been enjoying this! There is only one more chapter, as you predicted! XD I really need to get over the obsession of patterns and keeping things 'the same' :P I'm really enjoying your thought patterns, partially because I'm internally screaming "Yay! I got the messages across right!" 0:)**

 **' _mina-chan_ ', I'm so glad you're enjoying this so much! XD How are you coping with this latest chapter?! XD**

 _ **megaME-**_ **chwan~! I know! ;-; How are feeling after this chapter?! Robin's a mess and Zoro just can't seem to hold himself in one piece! And I will try to give you some fluff! ;P**

 **' _Guest01_ ', hehe, I shall! I'm actually working on something along those lines right now! XD**


	6. Chapter 6 - Ending the Games

**AN: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda!  
**

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 _ **Hey! Once again, this is ridiculously late! At least it's the final chapter? I've been pretty ill again, so if you don't mind, I'm going to do random updates for a while. There's something I have to do next Monday and that might change this decision, but this will mean I might not update for a few weeks at a time. I am genuinely sorry about this, but I hope you understand.**_

* * *

 **So, review responses!**

 ** _megaME_ -chwaaan~, hehe, if I've done this right, the cry corner might be needed! XD 'All' questions should be answered in this final chapter! XD**

 _ **yandericaverncastlethehedgehog,**_ **I am very sorry if I spelled your name wrong! XD I struggle with spelling and that is one long name you have! XD Thanks for reviewing, but I'll not tell you if you get your wish in this final chapter! XD Hope you enjoy it! XD**

 _ **Robin Roronoa-**_ **swaaan~** **, I hope this isn't a disappointment! It'll have to happen some time! ;P We really do need to sit down and have a proper chat again! It's been far too long! I do know it's 100% my fault...:( I'll have to start getting life back into order! :P**

* * *

 **Ok, so it's finally time for the last chapter of Her Two Year Regret! Hope you enjoy it! ^_^**

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 **Chapter Six – Ending the Games**

"I never meant to hurt you, Zoro." Robin began, silently pleading with him to stay as he continued to glare at her. "Life isn't some sort of fairy tale; you're life doesn't just suddenly fix itself. That was what felt like was happening to me, but I knew it was too good to be true. I was sure I didn't deserve to be happy. Then there was this adorable, kind boy who'd taken the time to learn to understand me, who'd tried to be there for me and look after me, telling me that he loved me."

"So you decided to see how far you could push things." He spat as he stood up from his chair with his plate and mug.

"No! That isn't what happened! Zoro, you _know_ that's not true!" Robin exclaimed as she joined him by the sink with her dishes. "You just wanted to hold me and protect me because you loved me and I just got caught up in it...When I woke up...I panicked."

"Yeah, great. You panicked and I spent the next year trying to work out what the fuck was wrong with me!" He snapped, rounding on her. "Not only did I fall in love with my damn teacher, said teacher decided that having fucking sex with me was a fun idea! _Then_ she threw the whole 'a relationship with me would never last' in my face!"

"Zoro-"

"You grabbed your damn clothes and _ran_ , Robin! You physically _ran_ from my fucking bedroom, _minutes_ after waking up next to me and suddenly telling me it was 'all a huge mistake' and that 'a relationship with me would never last'!" He yelled back at her before she could say anymore, his suddenly intimidating mass causing her to subconsciously step back. "...and now you're running again...Why do I never learn...?" He sighed in obvious frustration as he moved to walk around her.

"Zoro, wait..." She replied softly, taking hold of his sleeve. "Why did you come here? I very much doubt it was to apologise on Nami's behalf or to look after me."

"Huh? Oh, shit! Law! Yeah...Why did you tell him about Sanji? He's freaking out." Zoro explained, his shoulders giving a slight shrug as he finished.

"Ah, so he _is_ the jealous type." Robin hummed, wondering if she should ask her other questions. It would be rude to ask if that was why he disliked her so much. "Zoro, how do you remember your last year of school?"

"I don't know..." He replied awkwardly, suddenly avoiding her gaze.

"Zoro." She frowned, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Fine..." He sighed, dropping back onto his chair. "When I look back now, it kinda seems like you were _trying_ to seduce me...but I know you and that doesn't seem right."

"In what ways did I seem to seduce you?" Robin continued quietly, taking a seat next to him.

"I- Well...I don't know...This just seems weird..." He frowned, his cheeks starting to change colour.

"Perhaps we should call Law over? He certainly seems to have an interesting take on your last year of high school." Robin suggested lightly, watching him carefully as he suddenly tensed. "So far I'd say you have a 'thing' for older people. Perhaps you should tell that to Law? Then he'd only have everyone over twenty-one to worry about? Or perhaps it is maturity and insight you like? Knowledge?"

"I told you, I don't know how I 'work'." Zoro grunted, staring pointedly at the table. "Until that morning, there wasn't anything that I didn't like about you...I genuinely loved you for you, even though you had flaws. Your flaws just add to your character."

Robin paused, completely unable to respond. What could she say to him? Here he was, being so perfect and caring towards her, saying _that_ word again...and this time, _he_ was the one that was already taken. It just wasn't fair! She should have just stayed with Zoro that morning. She'd been a fool to let him go. Now he was with some jealous guy who'd twisted all his memories of her. His boyfriend had even threatened to have her arrested. How was Law any different to her? He was just a couple of years younger, but how could he claim that she'd done terrible things to Zoro? Law had apparently 'sliced him up'! Even if he had gotten Zoro talking again, who could say what methods he'd used?

"Zoro...what do you think happened the first time you met me? Not what you know, but think?" Robin urged, a horrible sense of foreboding coming over her.

"This is going to sound really stupid and childish..." He mumbled, turning his eyes away from her direction completely before starting. "You tried to humiliate me, teased me and laughed at me...but what I _believe_ is that you were genuinely concerned about me as a teacher...then you challenged me to prove myself as more than just a bunch of muscles like everyone thought. You _did_ tell me to call you 'Robin', but that's normal for teachers and sixth years to call each other by first names."

"What you believe is what I remember." Robin reassured, a dark feeling churning in her stomach. "What about the second?"

"Right...You continued to bully me...then used my pencil falling off of my table as an excuse to try to seduce me for fun." He nodded slowly, confusion beginning to show on his face. "That doesn't sound right...? You wouldn't...Back then, weren't you just trying to push me? You know, encouraging me to work? And then you actually just picked up my pencil to be helpful, right?" He continued, his words beginning to pick up speed.

"Back then, I admit, you were rather adorable for a mature student, but I wasn't interested in you like that at all." She mused, her gut clenching as she began to see how much damage had been done. "How about that time when we went home together?"

"You intentionally put on a dress in 'my colours' to draw me in, kept dropping hints, subconsciously tricking me into following you, then guilt-tripped me with the shitty-boyfriend routine...You tried to seduce me by walking onto the bus first and even invited me back to yours with the cover of 'homework'. You put images into my head and flirted with me..." He replied, clearly having to think about what he was supposed to say. If it had been a real memory, he should have been able to recall it easily. Could he pick out some truth from the web he'd been spun? "Back then...I think- I think I was just starting to want to get to know you. I don't know about the dress...but I think I took it as a sign that you wanted to get to know me better too? I think I might have started playing with the ideas that Ero-cook liked throwing around about 'finding someone'...I wasn't sure what that really meant..."

"If you are the way you think you are, having Sanji around perhaps confused things greatly for you? You wanted to get to know me, but Sanji was suggesting _sexual_ things, so you wanted to _try_ to think about things 'that way' because that was 'normal'." She stated, watching Zoro as he began to slowly nod.

"But you really were just talking about homework, weren't you? If you hadn't been, then you'd have been suggesting some weird threesome stuff with your boyfriend and I'm fairly sure I'd have to be _female_ for that to work out." Zoro mused, managing to force a quiet chuckle from her. "The images were just the whole Sanji's magazines thing, wasn't it?" He frowned, his cheeks darkening.

"Most likely." Robin nodded, still smiling at him.

"What about the blood pressure thing? You said I was cute? I've never really known what to think about that?" He frowned, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at her.

"Oh, for a big, muscular boy, you were very cute and I did learn to take great pleasure in embarrassing you." She laughed, reaching across to push some of his hair back up off of his forehead. "You're still adorable, but I wouldn't say 'cute' describes you anymore." She smiled, searching his dark eyes. "You've become very handsome, Zoro-san."

"Ehem, well, I...but you weren't flirting?" He coughed, a nice rose colour stretching between his ears.

"No, Zoro-san...not yet...You were still just one of my sixth years, even if you were adorable and I was becoming rather fond of you." She replied, taking her hand back and wrapping it around her mug.

"When...When did you start feeling anything for me...or was it always just in my head?" He frowned, watching as she stared at her empty mug.

"Ah...well, over the Christmas holidays, I began to actually miss you...I doubt I felt more than a fondness for you. When I saw that you were still being awkward around me after your prelim, I started to wonder if you had a crush on me." She hummed, running her thumb over the rim of the mug. "I decided to ask some... _interesting_ questions and you certainly seemed to feel _something_. How much of 'something', I don't know. I doubt you know anymore, if you ever knew at all." She smiled softly across at him. "I'm afraid I was a little out of line while testing out my theory...Did you keep watching? Or did you actually switch off the light and go to bed?"

"I, em-"

"Anyway," she moved to continue, already knowing the answer from his sudden increased awkwardness, "you were certainly 'my hero' when you took me home so I could get changed and then gave me a lift into school. You were utterly adorable when you caught a glimpse up my dress...I was almost happy...You were too good to be true when you suddenly realised you were staring, fufufufu."

"I-I was staring!?" Zoro yelped, his entire face becoming a beautiful shade of pink.

"Yes, Zoro-san." She mused, shaking her head at him – he hadn't even realised! "I rather enjoyed our journey to school and you took me on some interesting detours...It almost seemed as if you were driving around so that we could spend more time together. I know it was just because of your lack of sense of direction, but that is just even more endearing."

"Great, so I'm _adorable_ and do _endearing_ shit." Zoro grunted, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"But, I believe, the moment that I fell in _love_ with you was when you rushed into the classroom and wrapped me up in your arms. You truly wanted to comfort me and protect me, which is something I haven't known in years." She finished softly, leaning closer to him as his eyes widened in surprise at her words. "When Koshiro-"

Robin was cut off as Zoro pulled her against him, startling her. She wrapped her arms around him and smiled into the material of his dark green jacket. His hand began stroking her hair gently while the other gripped her waist tightly. Warm air tickled over her collarbone where his nose pressed into her neck. She turned her head to kiss his neck – the only available skin to her. She felt a snort of warm air pass over her and pulled back slightly, trying to look at him.

"Why did you run?" He murmured as he looked back at her from less than two inches away.

"I was scared, Zoro-san...I didn't know what to do with 'love'...I never meant to hurt you..." She whispered back, pressing her forehead against his. "When I finally realised I couldn't just walk away from you, you'd gone...I didn't know where you were, so I decided to go through with the wedding...I tried to tell myself that I had just been a crush..."

"You haven't been 'just a crush' for a long time." He soothed, his lips creeping towards hers slowly as his eyes flicked downwards.

"What about Law?" She frowned, pulling back slightly as she remembered his 'partner'.

"Shit! Em, fuck! Law..." He groaned, falling back in his chair.

"You are planning to buy a house with him." She stated, watching in amusement as he groaned even louder and covered his eyes. "Although, I'm not sure why you didn't try to talk him into staying? You didn't seem particularly keen to leave your friends."

Robin watched as Zoro sat staring back at her as if she'd become some alien being. He could hardly accuse her of not being human considering he had seen every inch of her body. In fact, he had _touched_ every inch of it and bitten or licked most of it. For someone so reserved, once she had let him loose, he had taken _every_ available option. It could have been the alcohol, the adrenaline, or perhaps it was just the euphoria of sex? She had certainly enjoyed it and, she had to agree, he certainly wasn't a _boy_ when they'd finished.

"Give me five- No, _ten_ minutes," he nodded as he suddenly stood up, "I have to go talk something out, but then I'll be back."

"Zoro-"

"Robin, we've already wasted two years and, as much as Law helped, I haven't been myself." He returned, cutting her short. "Hell, I even let him talk me into abandoning my friends for his stupid jealousy without putting up a fight. I ain't going anywhere!"

"Zoro-"

"Robin, the quicker I leave, the faster I can get back here." He grinned, leaning forward to kiss her briefly with intense passion. "I'm just going to go tell Law that if he can't deal with me having friends, he can go fuck himself. I'm not saying that I've completely forgiven you, but I ain't moving anywhere. Just give me ten minutes and I'll be back, promise. I don't know if this will become anything, but I haven't managed to forget you after two years, so how's moving away going to help?"

"Zoro-kun, you will still need the front door key." Robin rushed out before he could stop her again.

"Oh, right..." He muttered awkwardly, taking the key from her as she held it up, before a smirk spread back across his lips. "I love you, Robin."

"I love you too, Zoro-kun."

 ** _Yonde kurete arigatō, min'na!_**


End file.
